subject

1 of 3

noun

sub·​ject ˈsəb-jikt 

-(ˌ)jekt

1

: one that is placed under authority or control: such as

a

: vassal

b(1)

: one subject to a monarch and governed by the monarch's law

(2)

: one who lives in the territory of, enjoys the protection of, and owes allegiance to a sovereign power or state

2

a

: that of which a quality, attribute, or relation may be affirmed or in which it may inhere

b

: substratum

especially : material or essential substance

c

: the mind, ego, or agent of whatever sort that sustains or assumes the form of thought or consciousness

3

a

: a department of knowledge or learning

b

: motive, cause

c(1)

: one that is acted on

the helpless subject of their cruelty

(2)

: an individual whose reactions or responses are studied

(3)

: a dead body for anatomical study and dissection

(4)

: a person who has engaged in activity that a federal prosecutor has identified as being within the scope of a federal grand jury investigation

Most white-collar criminal defendants started out as subjects of a grand jury investigation," said Bruce Green, a former federal prosecutor and a law professor at Fordham.

—Adam Serwer

d(1)

: something concerning which something is said or done

the subject of the essay

(2)

: something represented or indicated in a work of art

e(1)

: the term of a logical proposition that denotes the entity of which something is affirmed or denied

also : the entity denoted

(2)

: a word or word group denoting that of which something is predicated

f

: the principal melodic phrase on which a musical composition or movement is based

subjectless

ˈsəb-jikt-ləs 

-(ˌ)jekt-

adjective

subject

2 of 3

adjective

1

: owing obedience or allegiance to the power or dominion of another

2

a

: suffering a particular liability or exposure

subject to temptation

b

: having a tendency or inclination : prone

subject to colds

3

: contingent on or under the influence of some later action

the plan is subject to discussion

subject

3 of 3

verb

sub·​ject səb-ˈjekt 

ˈsəb-ˌjekt

subjected; subjecting; subjects

transitive verb

1

a

: to bring under control or dominion : subjugate

b

: to make (someone, such as oneself) amenable to the discipline and control of a superior

2

: to make liable : predispose

3

: to cause or force to undergo or endure (something unpleasant, inconvenient, or trying)

was subjected to constant verbal abuse

subjection

səb-ˈjek-shən 

noun

Synonyms

Noun

• content
• matter
• motif
• motive
• question
• theme
• topic

Adjective

• conditional
• contingent (on or upon)
• dependent
• tentative

Verb

• conquer
• dominate
• overpower
• pacify
• subdue
• subjugate
• subordinate
• vanquish

Choose the Right Synonym for subject

Noun

citizen, subject, national mean a person owing allegiance to and entitled to the protection of a sovereign state.

citizen is preferred for one owing allegiance to a state in which sovereign power is retained by the people and sharing in the political rights of those people.

the rights of a free citizen

subject implies allegiance to a personal sovereign such as a monarch.

the king's subjects

national designates one who may claim the protection of a state and applies especially to one living or traveling outside that state.

American nationals working in the Middle East

Adjective

liable, open, exposed, subject, prone, susceptible, sensitive mean being by nature or through circumstances likely to experience something adverse.

liable implies a possibility or probability of incurring something because of position, nature, or particular situation.

liable to get lost

open stresses a lack of barriers preventing incurrence.

a claim open to question

exposed suggests lack of protection or powers of resistance against something actually present or threatening.

exposed to infection

subject implies an openness for any reason to something that must be suffered or undergone.

all reports are subject to review

prone stresses natural tendency or propensity to incur something.

prone to delay

susceptible implies conditions existing in one's nature or individual constitution that make incurrence probable.

very susceptible to flattery

sensitive implies a readiness to respond to or be influenced by forces or stimuli.

unduly sensitive to criticism

Example Sentences

Noun

The new museum is the subject of an article in today's paper.

Death is a difficult subject that few people like to talk about.

I need to break the news to her, but I'm not sure how to bring up the subject.

If you're interested in linguistics, I know an excellent book on the subject.

an excellent book on the subject of linguistics

These meetings would be much shorter if we could keep him from getting off the subject.

The morality of capital punishment is a frequent subject of debate.

Chemistry was my favorite subject in high school.

The classes cover a variety of subject areas, including mathematics and English.

Verb

Attila the Hun subjected most of Europe to his barbaric pillage.

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Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The urge to travel or learn something new may strike, so give yourself permission to spread your wings by booking an exciting trip or signing up for a course on a brand-new subject. —Tarot Astrologers, Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2023

Wall, 74, evolved from an avid reader in the late ‘60s to a frequent subject of Banner stories as a leader of the Drop-a-Dime, Report-a-Crime campaign of the 1980s. —Tiana Woodard, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Mar. 2023

Without it, writers risk rambling, misplacing a subject’s prized possession, or even facing a lawsuit, as was the situation in 2014 for Oakhurst Dairy in Maine over a missing Oxford comma. —Casey Fedde, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Mar. 2023

Each managed excellent portraits of one of our more challenging shots—a subject in front of a window on a sunny day. —Hunter Fenollol, Popular Mechanics, 2 Mar. 2023

Thomas Sadoski Discrepancy so vast is a reasonable subject for candid discussion, especially given our military involvement, even tangentially, in the monumental suffering of Yemen’s women and children. —Thomas Sadoski, CNN, 2 Mar. 2023

Grades don’t feel to many of them like measuring performance in a specific subject or even specific skill, but like wholesale endorsements or admonitions of their character. —Amanda Parrish Morgan, WIRED, 28 Feb. 2023

Police were sent to Harry E. Kelley River Park Sunday where a deceased subject was recovered from the Arkansas River. —Monica Brich, Arkansas Online, 27 Feb. 2023

This was a subject that my colleague Clare Mulroy looked into. —James Brown, USA TODAY, 26 Feb. 2023

Adjective

Additionally, each teacher will receive a $2,000 raise and could earn up to $10,000 in bonus pay for high test scores or teaching in a geographic or subject area of high need. —Will Langhorne, Arkansas Online, 1 Mar. 2023

Illicit fentanyl, said to be many times more potent than heroin, has been flooding across the U.S.-Mexico border and is widely cited as a cause of overdoses in the U.S. Black has been the subject police scrutiny in recent years. —Dennis Romero, NBC News, 26 Feb. 2023

Experts on the subject focus on big-picture indicators like displacement and business closures. —Nico Avalle, Bon Appétit, 25 Jan. 2023

Concussions and major injuries are common in football, and the NFL has been subject of much criticism for its injury policy since its founding more than a century ago. —Solcyre Burga, Time, 4 Jan. 2023

According to the commission, the 20-year-old, 43-foot male whale was subject of a necropsy conducted by the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Program, University of North Carolina Wilmington, and City of Virginia Beach’s Beach Operation Division. —Greg Wehner, Fox News, 23 Feb. 2023

Sarah Scoles just wrote a piece for us in our February magazine on that very subject. —Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 22 Feb. 2023

Email your answer in the subject line to [e-mail]. Download PDF. —WSJ, 16 Feb. 2023

Which of course hasn't stopped movie lovers from debating the subject ad nauseam. —A.a. Dowd, Chron, 9 Feb. 2023

Verb

But their phantom fears subject us all to very real ones. —Globe Columnist, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Feb. 2023

The brothers then subject Brandon to even more intense discomfort in the form of a deep tissue sports massage. —Philip Ellis, Men's Health, 22 Sep. 2022

In exchange for a massive check, an over-the-hill GGG will subject himself to a humiliating knockout. —Manouk Akopyan, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2022

Deliberate misrepresentation of information may subject the applicant to prosecution under applicable state and federal laws. —Ed Wittenberg, cleveland, 3 Aug. 2022

With something like the Biofinder, researchers could instead subject such crystals to less invasive probes. —Allison Gasparini, Scientific American, 27 July 2022

The reason is that most PHs subject their rifles to a fantastic amount of abuse, some unavoidable and some not, and an unmovable rear sight is about the only thing that holds up. —David E. Petzal, Field & Stream, 30 Jan. 2023

What's really important is that such flat-earthers do not subject their claims to falsifiability; peer-review; or the tests of predictive accuracy. —The Intersection, Discover Magazine, 3 June 2011

The hearing marks the first of many attempts to take aim at the Biden administration, as the new House Republican majority looks to wield its power — and subject the White House to uncomfortable political probes. —Tony Romm, Washington Post, 13 Jan. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English suget, subget, from Anglo-French, from Latin subjectus one under authority & subjectum subject of a proposition, from masculine & neuter respectively of subjectus, past participle of subicere to subject, literally, to throw under, from sub- + jacere to throw — more at jet

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing subject

• drop the subject
• change the subject
• short subject
• get on/onto the subject of
• subject matter
• subject to
• subject/object of ridicule
• to subject (someone or something) to
• subject to review
• tool subject
• subject to change

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• drop the subject
• change the subject
• short subject
• get on/onto the subject of
• subject matter
• subject to
• subject/object of ridicule
• to subject (someone or something) to
• subject to review
• tool subject
• subject to change

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Kids Definition

subject

1 of 3 noun

sub·​ject ˈsəb-jikt 

1

a

: a person under the authority or control of another

b

: a person who owes loyalty to a monarch or state

2

a

: a department of knowledge or learning

b

: an individual (as a person or a mouse) that is studied or experimented on

c

: the person or thing discussed : topic

the subject of an essay

3

: a noun or term functioning as a noun about which something is stated in the predicate of a sentence

"child" in "the child threw the ball" is the subject

subject

2 of 3 adjective

1

: owing obedience or loyalty to another

2

a

: likely to be affected by

subject to temptation

b

: having a tendency

subject to catching colds

3

: depending on

subject to your approval

subject

3 of 3 verb

sub·​ject səb-ˈjekt 

1

a

: to bring under control or rule

b

: to make responsive to the discipline and control of a superior

2

: to make likely

his poor conduct subjected him to criticism

3

: to cause or force to put up with something difficult, unpleasant, or inconvenient

unwilling to subject us to embarrassment

subjection

səb-ˈjek-shən 

noun

Medical Definition

subject

noun

sub·​ject ˈsəb-jikt 

1

: an individual whose reactions or responses are studied

2

: a dead body for anatomical study and dissection

Legal Definition

subject

noun

sub·​ject ˈsəb-ˌjekt 

: the person upon whose life a life insurance policy is written and upon whose death the policy is payable : insured compare beneficiary sense b, policyholder